For the technology loving mom: 

The new Plus Motif Tablet Case is offered by Papier de Maison and is available in 4 sizes to accommodate tabletsand e-Readers.  It comes in 16 colors and is complimented by 72 different Motif Designs.  The Motif Design snaps easily on the cover to give a customized look to your tablet cover.

• The large case that fits the iPad case retails for $39.99 with Motif Designs for $5.99 each.  
• The medium size fits the iPad mini retails for $34.99 with Motif Designs for $4.99 each.  
• The small size fits eReaders retails for $29.99 with the Motif Designs for $3.99 each.  
• There is also a journal that retails for $17.99 with the Motif Designs for $3.99 each.    

Buy one here: www.PlusMotif.com

For the healthy mom:

I love Edible Arrangements fresh selection of quality fruits. Their Mother’s Day products come in beautiful, reusable vases, and you can also add a stuffed animal or balloons as well. This gift is great because it can be delivered right to her door and she won’t have to worry about how she’s going to work off those extra calories!!!

Edible Arrangements for mom start at $29 and you can pick the bouquet of fruit that she likes best. Take a look at the wide selection here: Edible Arrangements Gifts for Mom

For the earth conscious mom:

We all have one, two, or one hundred of the plastic reusable totes, but be you be true cotton bags are adorable, washable, and inspirational. For an additional fee you can personalize the tote and add mom’s name. Best of all you can fill with a few of mom’s favorite things, like a book, bath products, her favorite candies, what a nice way to spoil her.

This tote without personalization is $28. Check out more totes and other be you be true products here: beyoubetrue.com

For the mom who loves to read:

We all need a little humor in our lives. Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir: How I Got Pregnant, Lost Myself, and Got My Cool Back in the New Jersey Suburbs by Tracy Beckerman is all about the many things in motherhood that make us laugh. Any mom is sure to relate to Tracy’s stories of kids mistaking adults for being pregnant, fishing toys out of the toilet and more!

Find Tracy’s book on Amazon.com

For the mom who wants to smile:

I know Invisalign isn’t an obvious Mother’s Day gift, however the more I chat with mom friends, other moms at my daughter’s school, and people in playgroups I hear mom’s wishing they could “fix” their smile. Some moms had braces as a child but didn’t wear their retainer, some of their families couldn’t afford braces when they were little, and some have seen overcrowding issues as they get older.

As a mom, often times we put our own health and appearance on the back burner to care for our children. If you know a mom who would be interested in making her smile shine as bright as her personality, consider arranging a consultation to see if she’s a good fit for the Invisalign treatment program.

Invisalign pricing ranges depending on the case. Average treatment is around $3,000-$5,000 but is often less depending on length of treatment. Find a doctor here: Invisalign Doctor Locator 

For the mom who wants to give back:

Prosperity Candles are beautiful handmade candles manufactured by female entrepreneurs in and from distressed regions of the globe. My favorite Mother’s Day gift is the Gem of a Woman gift set that comes with a uniquely scalloped bowl soy candle and a fair trade summer scarf, both made by underprivileged women from around the globe. 

Each set comes with a gift box and story card, and burns for 40 hours. There are three scents to choose from: Himalayan Bamboo, Magnolia Blossom, and Sea Mist. Each candle/scarf set retails for $54.00 Purchase yours here: Gem of a Woman gift set.

There you have it, a few great ideas for Mother’s Day gifts. Now what will you get your mom for her special day??

This is a compilation of products that I have received for review, and products that I have not personally tried out but think are a great idea for Mother’s Day. In any regard I chose these specific gifts on my own as Mother’s Day gifts that I thought would be a good fit for shoppers. Any opinions in this post are my own, honest words written with integrity. 

But for those of us who need or desire these products, there’s a product that functions as a pillow, nursing cover, change pad and purse all-in-one – the Peek Away 4 in 1 Essentials Nursing Kit.

I reviewed the original Peek Away kit on a Mommy B guest post about nine months ago. Recently, Peek Away unveiled a new (and definitely improved) kit.

The Peek Away is 14.5″L x 6.5″H x 5.5″ when it’s folded. It has a strap that clips onto it for carrying it like a purse. Tucked inside is a nursing cover that features a “rounded” collar so you can peek in on babe while he or she is nursing. It unfolds into a changing pad that’s fairly thick and cushy. At the end of the pad, there’s also a pocket you can stuff diapers into and a reusable wipe container you can easily open one-handed while holding onto baby. There are also two additional pockets you can use for keys, your cell phone, credit cards, etc.

It was designed by a husband and wife who found it was difficult to travel as frequently as they did while conveniently nursing and having the essentials they needed easily accessible.

The original Peek Away had several design flaws including a short pad, bad stitching and poor quality materials, among other concerns. The owners of Peek Away were fully aware of the quality concerns with the original kit which they said were a result of the manufacturer not following the company’s specifications for materials or workmanship.

The company worked with the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) to secure a manufacturer to redesign the product. Based on my experience with the original version and the latest version, they have successfully addressed areas I noted needed improvement in my previous review for Mommy B and more.

• Straps – The previous version only had one strap. If you wanted to use it to secure the pillow around your waist to prop baby on, you obviously couldn’t use it on your nursing cover at the same time. The pillow now has its own removable strap and the nursing cover has a “built in” adjustable strap.

• Changing pad – The length of the pad has been extended, making it a much more practical size to change a squirming baby. The height of the pillow is also higher now and the foam is much firmer. The original Peek Away that I keep in my car is much “squishier” and when folded, doesn’t hold its shape well. Also, the top of the improved Peek Away pad (the part that touches baby) is now lined with canvas and the back side is made with neoprene.

• Integrated wipes container – Quality of the plastic and the snap top on the wipes container seems much more durable. The lid on the original Peek Away actually broke off mine the first time I opened it.

• Fabric – The prints for the previous version were bright, pink or green floral, which a mama who likes more subdued prints would not likely love. The new prints include a classy black and white pattern, trendy brown and a gray with subtle flowers. The thickness on the nursing cover has also been improved but is still lightweight.

After using the original Peek Away for nearly a year, I’m excited to see this much-improved version of a kit that is practical and convenient for nursing mamas on-the-go. My only regret is that I didn’t have this version during the early days of nursing my second child as the improvements that were made indeed make this a much better product.

The latest version is much worthier of the $47 price tag whereas the original version definitely was not. You can purchase Peek Away on their website or at several retailers across the country.

MommyB Knows Best is giving one lucky reader a chance to win a Peek Away 4-in-1 nursing kit to make nursing-on-the-go an easier experience for mom and baby.

Enter here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Peek Away provided products for this review, however, the opinions expressed are the author’s honest assessment of the product.

After a 13 year PR/communications career, Jamie K. took on her most challenging (but rewarding) job – fulltime CFO (chief family officer). She currently lives in Northern Virginia, her 4^th “home” state in 5 years thanks to her officer husband’s Air Force career.

There are many different factors parents have to keep in mind as they purchase a new car seat for their child:

• Safety – hopefully being number one
• Size – this is very important if you have a smaller vehicle especially
• Design – may be gender based, style based, or to match your own vehicle
• Price – as a parent having a price range in mind as you shop can hel

Safety – Recently Britax launched a new car seat line, their G3 Convertible Car Seat series. All five Britax G3 Convertible car seat models provide safety features that are visible and clearly labeled. and offer 360 degrees of protection.

Look for the new BRITAX HUGS™ with SafeCell Technology®, side impact protection, base with SafeCell Technology®, energy absorbing Versa-Tether®, and integrated steel bars. The ADVOCATE® 70- G3, PAVILION® 70-G3 and BOULEVARD® 70-G3 feature new BRITAX HUGS™ Chest Pads with SafeCell Technology®. These chest pads are affixed to the back of the car seat shell to ensure that they are properly positioned on the buckled child. SafeCell padding on the chest pads, identified by a honeycomb design, is engineered to compress to manage energy and create best-in-class resistance to the forward movement of a child.

All of the newly updated BRITAX convertible car seats continue to offer revolutionary safety features that are easy to see. For instance, all seats have a rigid shell with deep side walls that are lined with energy-absorbing foam to provide side impact protection. The ADVOCATE 70-G3, PAVILION 70-G3 and BOULEVARD 70-G3 offer a second layer of protection with energy-absorbing foam in the True Side Impact Protection head restraint that keeps the head, neck and spine aligned. Finally, the ADVOCATE 70-G3 includes Side Impact Cushion Technology®, a third layer of protection, with black energy-absorbing cushions on the child seat’s exterior to reduce side impact energy by diverting 45 percent of the crash forces away from the seated child.

These cushions also provide extra protection for the adjacent passenger. Additional visible features can be found on all updated BRITAX convertible car seats. Check inside the open-style base for honeycomb-shaped SafeCell Technology®, designed to compress in a crash, significantly lowering the center of gravity and counteracting the forward rotation of the child seat. Look on the outside of the seat for integrated steel bars that strengthen the seat’s connection to the vehicle and

Also, all the enhanced models have new labeling to identify BRITAX’s Energy Absorbing Versa-Tether. The patented 2-point top tether with staged-release webbing anchors the top of the car seat to the vehicle and slows forward movement, reducing crash forces. These features, along with the side impact technologies, provide 360-degree protection for the child occupant.

In addition to the innovative safety features, BRITAX has designed a new convenience feature. The EZ-Buckle System keeps the buckle in a convenient, easy-to- reach forward position, making boarding a child faster and simpler. It can be found on the ADVOCATE 70-G3, PAVILION 70-G3 and BOULEVARD 70-G3 as well as the BRITAX ADVOCATE 70-G3, PAVILION 70-G3, BOULEVARD 70-G3 and MARATHON 70-G3 convertible car seats can be used rear facing up to 40 pounds and forward facing up to 70 pounds.

Size & Design – Britax car seats come in various sizes and weight limits to fit both your child and your vehicle. There are honestly so many styles that browsing through them will be half the fun of the purchase. I also enjoy that Britax, unlike a fair amount of car seat companies, does offer a wide selection of car seat designs. Having two girls I really love the Azalea and Sophia styles.

Price - Last on our list, price. Typically, Britax car seats are known for being on the higher end of the price scale. I do want you to consider the above features, safety, comfortability for your child’s ride (there really is a big difference between other brands, we’ve experienced this ourselves), and also durability. Seeing how well the Britax brand “wears” I can tell that the materials are high quality and we will get our money’s worth with these seats.

Exciting enough, the newly enhanced G3 line is now available at the same price point as their previous models.

BRITAX ADVOCATE 70-G3 (MSRP: $379.99)

PAVILION 70-G3 (MSRP: $339.99)

BOULEVARD 70-G3 (MSRP: $319.99),

MARATHON 70-G3 (MSRP: $289.99)

ROUNDABOUT 55 (MSRP: $199.99).

For more information about BRITAX Child Safety, Inc., visit www.BRITAXusa.com

Would you like to win a Britax car seat?? MommyB Knows Best in partnership with Britax is giving away one Boulevard 70 G3 in your choice of fabric style. 

Enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For DaddyB and me, we had a boy name chosen from the start {go figure we are girl parents}, but when we found out that our first child was going to be a girl we went into name-seeking-mode.

Oddly enough, last week while cleaning out one of our closets I found an original list of names that we were thinking about naming Miss A before she was born.

On the list was Gabriella, Julia, Eisley and a few more but Olivia was the name we had our hearts set on. Being a Jennifer {in case you didn’t know my first name}, I have always been disgruntled that I had the most popular name {for a 10 year span} and that so many people around me shared my name, so many that I had to go by both my first and last name most all the time. Thus the reason I go by MommyB instead of my first name. 

During the time I was pregnant the name Olivia just seemed to become more and mom popular, and because I didn’t want Miss A to share her name with millions of other girls we decided that we would use that as her middle name. 

One day, as we started our first name search from scratch, we were looking at name cups in a cute children’s boutique and found this:

and automatically fell in love with the name. We still love the name and if ever by chance Miss A decides she doesn’t like it she can always go by her middle name. Seemingly, it appears that Avery is becoming more popular these days as well. I guess good names can’t be a secret for too long. 

Picking a name for baby can be a challenging task. I hope you enjoyed my story on how we chose Miss A’s name. How did you decide on your baby’s name?

Do you have a great story on how your parents decided on your name? Tell me for a chance to win a year’s supply of cards from Cardstore.com! 

Cardstore.com has expanded their offering of birth announcements! Everyone that replies will get a coupon code for 10 free cards for every 10 birth announcements purchased!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cardstore. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

As a product reviewer and a blogger who gives parenting tips and tricks I’ve seen a LOT of baby shower gifts, the good, the bad, and the ugly {to remain nameless}. Although I adore cute onesies and giving practical gifts like diapers I really enjoy when I can fit a shower gift to the parents and get them something unique and that I know for certain won’t be a duplicate or most likely even on their registry.

Here are a few baby shower gifts for expecting parents you may know:

For the Organized Parents: Check out the Baby Briefcase, great for storing important documents, photos, medical records and more in one great location. The sturdy plastic case keeps out dust and moisture and fits right into your filing cabinet. It’s carrying handle also makes it easy to transport from your home office to doctor’s appointments too. The Baby Briefcase retails for $29.95 and can be found on their website: http://www.babybriefcase.com/

For the Outdoorsy Parents: The Peekaroo Ozone is an amazing way to keep baby hidden from extreme elements. This product shields baby from 95% of UVA and UVB rays. Not only is the Peekaroo Ozone adjustable to baby’s size {up to 2 years old}, it also adapts to a baby carrier cover, stroller cover, and attaches onto a baby carseat with ease. To protect baby’s delicate skin and still smell the fresh air, check out the Peekaroo Ozone on their site {it’s currently on sale for $34}: https://www.togetherbe.com/peekaru-ozone-2

For the Traveling Parents:  Baby B’air {pronounced baby bear}, is for you! This product is great for keeping baby close and on your lap while in flight, but most importantly it is the first and only FAA Approved Flight Vest. The Baby B’air comes in infant size and up and is very easy to use. This product allows your child to play, nap, and nurse while in flight which proves for a happier, safer child all-around. At $34.95 it’s a great price for a shower gift. More details here: http://babybair.com/

For the On-the-Go Parents: This multipurpose GoGo Babyz Sidekick Bliss Diaper Bag offers more than meets the eye! This diaper bag also serves as a baby carrier, has a handy insulated snack bag, and changing pad. Not to mention that the side pockets and interior and exterior pockets are awesome. For a diaper bag this is on the smaller side, but personally I love the fact that it does so many jobs and I don’t have to carry the baby carrier with me in addition to a diaper bag. You can carry a child up to 35lbs safely using the Sidekick Bliss, I think it’s pretty cool. {And Dads won’t mind carrying it either since it’s not girlie at all.} This is definitely a larger ticket item but if you’re up for splurging a little or going in on this gift with a few other friends it’s a steal for $120. Find it and a few other styles on their website: http://www.gogobabyz.com

Do you have any unique baby shower gift ideas?? I’d love to hear them!!

I was pleasantly surprised and knew life was going to be alright, in fact, I knew that life was going to be amazing. Seeing my girls, together as they grow, loving each other, and playing with each other melts my heart.

 

 

It is definitely a, “So Good, So Sweet” moment in my life that will never get old. I love celebrating the little things in life.

Because KFC is a family-friendly restaurant, they too want to help share and savor those little celebrations in life. For a limited time, get a free Double Chocolate Chip Cake with the purchase of a 10-piece meal or larger. Try a great dessert with a great meal with one of our famous secret recipes, like Colonel Sanders’ famous Original Recipe®. What will you celebrate today? (Prices & participation may vary.)

Win one of five great prizes, such as chef services, house cleaning, Flip Video UltraHDcamera and more from KFC! Vote for my sweet unexpected moment below! You can vote once per day, check out mine and other sweet moments at www.sogoodsosweet.com!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of KFC. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules

People are really going all out when it comes to announcing their pregnancy, sharing the baby’s name with friends and family, and especially announcing baby’s gender. Here are a few fun ideas on how to share your baby’s gender with friends and family that you may not have thought of yet.

If you yourself want to be surprised by baby’s gender, make sure you have your ultrasound tech write down the gender in a sealed envelope for your accomplice that is helping you reveal the gender.

Whether you decide to host an elaborate, big party, or just invite a few people over for an intimate evening it’s a celebration that you’ll want to catch on camera and video, so make sure someone you know is able to capture the moments and expressions on yours and your guests faces.

Sweet Surprises - Have your favorite baker frost the inside of your cake with pink for a girl and blue for a boy. The surprise comes with the first cut of the cake, and as a bonus everyone gets to enjoy a delicious dessert. If you’re looking for recommendations of bakers who do a great job at this in the Charlotte area email me.

Heavenly Helium - There’s just something about balloons that yell celebration. Recently I went to a gender reveal of my good friend {and Realtor} Kristi, who chose a balloon gender reveal. Kristi lost her mother to cancer not long ago, so this reveal was appropriate as the balloons came out of the box and floated up to heaven. The presence of Kristi’s mom was there as she found out that she too would have a daughter and be able to share those memories with her own little girl. It was an amazing and emotional moment, can you tell??!?! Congrats again Kristi and Z!!!!

Thank you heathermarie-photography.com for this photo

The Shirt Says it All – If you want to be discrete let your clothing speak for you. There are shirts and clothing for expecting moms and dads, and even older soon-to-be siblings that will let you tell the world the gender of baby on the way. Or if you really want to get creative you can make your own. DaddyB and I used this method when we wanted to reveal to our family and friends that we were expecting again, it was pretty awesome and Miss A’s shirt was pink, even before we knew we were having a girl, or maybe we subconsciously knew.

Isn't Miss A cute!! {Age 26 months}

Give a Gender Gift – It’s always fun to open presents right? How much more fun would it be to open a gift in anticipation of finding out the gender of a new baby. There are several ways to do this, the obvious would be wrapping something that is pink or blue and giving it to those attending your gender reveal party. Which is fun and does the trick. Here are an original idea I came up with that is more involved but just as fun, {if not more}.

You know those Photo Viewer Key Chains you get from theme parks? You can purchase them from most printers, those pictured here are from our friends at The Dustan Group.  Use a gender neutral color, write your last name, gender reveal and “It’s a…” on the outside of the photo viewer and get creative. You can take some couples photos and put the gender on the photo or just make a fun text image with the color/or words, “girl” or “boy.”  It’s a great souvenir of the day and a nostalgic item for when that child is older.

Thanks to The Dunstan Group LLC for this image

So no matter how you choose to share the gender of your unborn baby enjoy the all the little moments in pregnancy and those that follow. They go by so fast and you can never get those moments back, have fun, and congrats!!

What ideas have you used or seen for Gender Reveal Parties?

When I got pregnant with Baby C we didn’t have much to register for since we kept almost everything from Miss A, including clothes. Again, since sometimes people don’t even have a shower for their second child I didn’t want to come off as greedy and coveted, but didn’t register or ask for the video monitor.

Although with each baby I think a video monitor would have saved me from a lot of stress, running up the stairs 5,000,000,000 times, and constantly checking on the girls. Even though Baby C was almost 2 years old at the time that Tommee Tippee contacted me I was ecstatic to try out their new Closer to Nature, Digital Video Sensor Pad Monitor. While we didn’t quite need the sensor pad, I was happy to be able to see on the monitor when Baby C really needed us and when she didn’t.

Here are some features from this Digital Video Monitor and my thoughts on them.

PROS:

• Clarity in Picture – I could see Baby C whether it was day or night with the night vision capabilities of the monitor
• Zoom Setting – I love being able to zoom in and see details a little better
• “Talkback” Feature – I have always wanted to be able to do this with a monitor to help soothe my child without being physically in the room and this monitor provides that, just make sure you check the volume settings before you use it.
• I love the option of the sensor, and would definitely use it if I had a newborn or small baby because I am such a worrier.
• The monitor has a great temperature reading and tells us the temperature of the room, very helpful in figuring out why Baby C may be staying up or is fussy.

CONS:

• The sound from the receiver seems to have some high pitched feedback, but this may just be a defect with the one we received. For that reason we typically keep the volume down. Keep your receipt just in case.
• The camera is only able to zoom in, not move side to side so we have to make sure the camera doesn’t get bumped or moved otherwise we can’t see Baby C.
• The battery power of the monitor is very little. We weren’t able to unplug through the night, so we couldn’t watch downstairs and transfer upstairs when we went to bed. Possible solutions, place somewhere you can leave plugged in, or purchase another AC adapter for different locations.

I did notice a few bad reviews for the sensor pad on a couple of baby store websites, but again, keep your receipt because as you know often the people who don’t like a product are more inclined to leave comments than those who are satisfied.

The monitor system comes with one parent unit, one video component to go in the nursery, one sensor pad, and instructions. It retails anywhere from $250.00 USD to $299.99 depending on where you purchase it. Check out Tommee Tippee’s website (select your country) for more information on this and other monitors and baby products here: http://www.tommeetippee.com/

Also find Tommee Tippee on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TommeeTippeeNorthAmerica

What kind of monitor do you use? Do you have a basic monitor but really want a video monitor to check on your children??

I received the Tommee Tippee monitor so I could perform a complete review of this product. The opinions expressed in the post above are my own honest opinions, however yours may vary.

Most recently, thanks to Mommy B, I had the opportunity to try several scents of A Happy Green Life’s natural laundry wash.

A Happy Green Life (AHGL) was started by two moms who cloth diaper their babies. They wanted a detergent that’s safe for the diapers and worked well for their husbands’ uniforms (one husband is a professional chef and the other is in the military).

Their laundry wash is made from naturally occurring chemicals and compounds – sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and sodium percarbonate. They offer laundry washes scented with synthetic fragrance oils as well scents made with 100% natural essential oils.

Immediately upon opening the package containing the detergent samples, I was overwhelmed by the strong smell, particularly from the synthetic blends. I tend to be somewhat sensitive to strong smells and AHGL’s scents are so strong, they actually made me sneeze when I opened them. Even now, as they sit beside me as I write this review, they are irritating my nose a bit.

Having said that, the scents do smell good – including Monkey Farts, Bite Me, and Lavender Apple. AHGL offers more than 20 scents. My laundry room actually smells fantastic with the detergent sitting in there.

After washing, my clothes and diapers didn’t seem to retain such a strong scent. Some of the scents I could lightly smell after washing and some I couldn’t smell at all.

What really impressed me about AHGL’s laundry wash is how well it took the chlorine smell out of swimsuits and towels that sat overnight because we forgot to put them in the washer.

One challenge with cloth diapering is that detergent can build up in your diapers and cause stink issues. AHGL seemed to rinse well from our diapers and clothing and got them fairly clean. Stains remained on some diapers that were heavily soiled, but that’s common with most cloth diapers. I haven’t found a detergent yet that takes out all the staining. A quick way to get rid of stains (cloth diapers or any clothing) is to put them out in the sun while they’re wet. You’ll be amazed how well it works!

Like all cloth-friendly detergents, AHGL’s laundry wash does not contain optical brighteners, phosphates or soap.

You can find A Happy Green Life laundry wash and additional products they offer on their website and through select retailers. A 50/100 load bag costs $10, which seems to be on the lower end of what many cloth diaper-safe detergents cost.

After a 13+ years PR/communications career, Jamie K. recently took on her most challenging job yet – as a fulltime CFO (chief family officer). Currently, she lives in Alabama with her husband, an officer in the Air

Force, and her toddler son and infant daughter. She’s a big fan of deal sites, attempts to be eco-friendly, and struggles daily with the great balancing act of being a super mom.

Although products were provided for this review, the opinions expressed are my own and were not influenced in any way.

This recall involves SNIGLAR non-drop-side, full-size cribs with model number 60091931 (the model numbers are printed on a label attached to the mattress support,) that were sold from October 2005 through June 2010.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada…announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

For additional information, contact IKEA toll-free at (888) 966-4532 anytime, or visit the firm’s website at www.ikea-usa.com